“Audible” is the best app for listening to audiobooks in a market that seems full of them. The biggest company in the world that makes digital audiobooks has over 400,000 audio programs from famous authors, reporters, and performers. It’s a one-stop shop for book lovers. Although almost everything about this app is good, the expensive price tag is $14.95/month, making it too expensive for average users. Plus, its user interface could be easier to understand compared to some of its competitors. Therefore, we have dished out the 10 best Audible options in 2023, whether you are looking for a comparatively good audiobook app at a significantly lower price or a completely free audiobook service.
Best Audible Alternatives You Can Try
Before exploring choices, it is always best to take a close look at needs:
Which Audiobook App Would be Better for You?
To be clear, choosing your best audiobook app depends on your taste in audiobooks and your budget. Look for apps that offer books in various genres and have a sizable library if you enjoy reading.
Instead, choose one of the cheaper or free options if you only listen to audiobooks occasionally. We picked a variety of apps in the following review so that passionate and casual audiobook users can find the best app that fits their needs perfectly.
How do Audiobooks Work and How do You get them?
Like podcasts, audiobooks work. You can download your best audiobooks and listen to them offline or stream them online. Most audiobook apps offer the flexibility to add your favorites to a wishlist and even create a comprehensive library of all the audiobooks that interest you.
You can explore the full library and select your favorites, thanks to the vast selection of audiobooks available. You can listen to them whenever you want after that. No matter what you like, you can fine-tune the noise and speed and even set a sleep timer so you can fall asleep without any worries.
With that said, let’s explore the best apps like Audible!
1. OverDrive
If you are a student or a real library member that Overdrive works with, you can listen to your favorite audiobooks for free. To make book sharing simpler for their users, more than 30,000 libraries around the world use Overdrive.
You need a legal account with a registered school, library, or other organization to use Overdrive. You can listen to all audiobook titles available on the app for free once you have been accepted.
The option to share books you’d like to listen to is also available. Additionally, you can easily return titles by creating a wishlist of all your favorite books.
You don’t have to worry about late fees because the titles are dropped off instantly. OverDrive works on a lot of different devices, just like Audible. It works on iOS, Android, Windows, and more. You should check out Overdrive to listen to great audiobooks for free instead of Audible.
Pros:
- Over 30,000 libraries supported
- Create a wishlist of all the books
- Use the app for free
Cons:
- The audiobook library is not that extensive
- Popular books have a long waiting period
Platform Availability: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Chromebook, Kindle Fire HD, and Chrome Web Store
Pricing: Free
Visit: Website
2. Kobo Books
“Kobo Books” is an app that has consistently been one of my top picks (and a personal favorite) for various reasons. The app has a good sufficiently audiobook library, which always has interesting things waiting for your attention.
Secondly, the app’s interface looks great, which makes listening to audiobooks a great experience. To fully enjoy listening to your best books is exactly what a bibliophile would like to have.
Kobo Books is cheaper than Audible, which is the final point. This is much cheaper than the second one—only $9.99 monthly. Also, Kobo Books lets you add audiobook points, so you can buy more audiobooks for the low price of $9.99, which is great.
Folks who like to customize audiobook apps will enjoy several important features for a more individualized experience. Oh, and it has a really useful night mode, so you can explore your collection without getting too uncomfortable.
This one is one of the best options to audible right now because it has a better price and can be changed to fit your needs.
Pros:
- Good enough library of audiobooks
- Elegant-looking interface
- Better pricing strategy
Cons:
- Recommendations aren’t up to the mark
- Doesn’t offer much original content as Audible
Platform Availability: iOS and Android
Pricing: 30-day free trial, $9.99/month
Visit: Website
3. Scribd
“Scribd” has always been among the best audiobook apps. It has a collection of over a million titles of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and more that is always growing. It shouldn’t be surprising to see it in this highly sought-after group. The app offers famous and well-liked audiobooks in various genres, just like Audible, whether you enjoy science fiction or love to explore new places.
Scribd’s user interface is also amazing and offers a lot of customization. This way, you can make this audiobook app more unique to your tastes. You can also customize the story speed based on your comfort. Also, if you habitually listen to your favorite books at night, remember to set a sleep timer. This will ensure that the app automatically stops playing audiobooks at the appropriate time.
You can download audiobooks from Scribd, just like you can from Audible. This way, you can listen to your best books even offline. I’ve found the latter to be a touch better as someone who prefers more personalization.
You can create cool comments and make notes. You can customize the word size and select a nice background color to get some fun features into the mix.
The price of Scribd is $8.99, which is significantly cheaper than Audible’s. It can be a wise choice if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to Audible without compromising quality or quantity.
Pros:
- Pretty impressive user-interface
- Offers bestselling and popular audiobooks in a wide range of genres
- Customize the narration speed
- Set sleep timer
Cons:
- Restrictions on some titles
Platform Availability: Android, iOS, and Web
Pricing: 30-day free trial, $9.99/month
Visit: Website
4. Google Play Books
When looking for the best Audible options, it would be a mistake to ignore “Google Play Books,” regardless of what better suits your taste. As of 2013, the app had probably the biggest ebook collection (over 5 million). Now, the tech giant has slowly but surely built up a huge library of audiobooks.
You can customize “Google Play Books” better than Audible regarding personalization. The app keeps track of what interests you the most or the content that always gets your attention first and then recommends choices based on that. This makes it easy to find the right book whenever you want to read or listen to something great.
Take notes that are instantly shared with Google Drive while you are exploring the library. So, you can work together with your audiobook friends without any problems. Google Play Books offers audiobooks in many languages, just like Audible does. The best thing about Google Play Books is that it offers better local language choices because it has already been set up for your area.
Regarding the audiobook library, I searched for 20 of my favorite books because Google doesn’t list the number of titles available like Audible does. There was no trouble in that case because I found them on both sites. it would help if you did not have any trouble with that in this case.
I found Google Play Books quite potent overall, and it’s one of the best options for Audible out there.
Pros:
- Better user interface (less clutter)
- No subscription pricing
- Books are always under heavy discounts
Cons:
- No original titles like Audible Originals
- Sometimes you have to buy books at full price as there is no monthly credit system like Audible
Platform Availability: iOS, Android, Chrome, and Web
Pricing: No subscription pricing (You have to buy books individually)
Visit: Website
5. Audiobooks.com
If you only want to listen to great audiobooks, you should take advantage of this app that has been a strong competitor to Audible for a long time. After adding more than 150,000 titles to its library, the app has the amount and quality to win you over.
The app offers a massive selection of audiobooks in various genres and a great selection of audiobooks that are great for kids and families. Therefore, I recommend you check out Audible’s selection if it doesn’t meet your family’s expectations.
In addition to having a large library, Audio Books also has a nice personalization feature compared to Audible. For example, you should be able to customize the interface, use a sleep timer, and download your best things to catch up on them whenever you want.
Not only does the app have audiobooks, but it also has over 700,000 podcasts. If you’re looking for an app like Audible that lets you listen to podcasts and audiobooks, you won’t find a better one. I bet.
Audible and Audio Books are neck and neck in terms of price, even though the high price puts them at a disadvantage and keeps them out of the reach of most of the stream.
Pros:
- High-quality audiobooks in a variety of genres
- Provides a great collection of kids and family-friendly audiobooks
- Over 700,000 podcasts
Cons:
- Too pricey
Platform Availability: iOS and Android
Pricing: $14.95/month
Visit: Website
6. AudiobooksNow
“AudiobooksNow” can outperform many competitors, including the highly regarded Audible, when offering an appealing price-to-value prospect. Take advantage of this chance to get the best of both worlds: a huge selection of audiobooks (over 120,000 titles) at a much lower price.
In both fiction and non-fiction, the app offers famous popular titles. You can customize the interface to enhance the listening experience, just like with Audible. You can choose your speed, download audiobooks for offline listening, and more. In addition, it offers books based on the kinds of music you like, so you’ll always have something nice to catch up on during a fun road trip or a long drive.
There are some differences between how AudiobooksNow and Audible set their prices. You can buy a book every month at 50% off with AudiobooksNow instead of using Audible credits, which give you access to a free audiobook every month.
It’s also possible to group different books and buy them at a lower price. Audible’s price is easier to understand than what Audio Books Now calls a simpler pricing method.
This is a very good option for Audible, so you should check it out. You might even like the way it sets its prices better.
Pros:
- Over 120,000 titles
- Bestselling titles in both fiction and non-fiction
- Competitive price
Cons:
- May not suit those who want to explore several different genres
Platform Availability: iOS, Android, Nook, Kindle Fire, and Web
Pricing: 30-day free trial, $4.99/month
Visit: Website
7. Apple Books
Look only as far as Apple Books if you are a deep user of the Apple environment and want a good audiobook app that can compete with Audible in most areas. The app is robust enough to cater to audiobook reading or book listening needs and is feature-packed.
It has everything you need, like Audible, with many mysteries and an ever-growing list of tales. Additionally, depending on your interests, the app offers customized groups.
The app has a part called “Top Charts,” where you can access all the most popular books and audiobooks, making it easy to keep track of the current popular books. As someone who always likes to have a lot of customization, Apple’s customization seems on par with Audible’s.
The app lets you organize your library however it works for you. Besides that, unlike Audible, it offers better feedback and keeps a close eye on your listening/reading. It also motivates you to read more.
Lastly, I love how clean the app’s interface is. Here are some Audible options that work best for Apple users, no matter how you look at it.
Pros:
- Curated collections
- Help you improve your reading habit
- Plenty of customizations
Cons:
- Restricted to Apple ecosystem
- No original content as Audible Originals
Platform Availability: iOS and macOS
Pricing: No subscription required (Buy your books as you go)
Visit: Website
8. eStories
Being someone who can’t get enough of fiction, “stories” have impressed me. Therefore, Irecommend keeping fiction in mind if you are captivated by it. The app lets you select from more than 110,000 fiction and non-fiction audiobooks, with both fiction and quality, to contend with Audible on many fronts.
You can download and play books on any MP3 player because most audiobooks are DRM-free, which is another benefit from a free perspective. It also adds a bunch of new releases every week, so your queue always looks full.
Although they don’t compare to Audible’s offers, eStories’ new releases are more than adequate in quality. However, there is one area where I find it easier to use: unlimited free audiobook cloud storage that lets you keep your books. It should be your first choice if you’re looking for an app to help you create a sizable library of audiobooks.
Pros:
- More than 110,000
- Offers new releases every week
- Unlimited free audiobook cloud storage
Cons:
- Lacks seamless experience
- The app feels a bit clunky
Platform Availability: iOS, Android, Amazon FireTV, Chromecast, Apple TV, and Roku
Pricing: 30-day free trial, $11.99/month
Visit: Website
9. Downpour
When listening to audiobooks, “Downpour” is the best choice. It has an app with a sizable library of over 80,000 titles, just like most of its competitors, including Audible, so there should be something for everyone.
The app has some of the best works, including Pulitzer, Nobel, Man Booker, Hugo, PEN/Faulkner, and National Book Award winners, making it a great pick for people with good taste.
Besides having a pretty good collection, the app does a good job with the basics. For instance, you can create a wishlist of things you’d like to listen to later. It offers a fully integrated sleep audiobook so you can fall numb to your favorite book while ensuring the audiobooks stay true to your taste.
To make sure you remember everything important, there is also the option to add a quick note. Downpour is a pretty good option for the folks who enjoy the world’s great standards.
Pros:
- Over 80,000 titles
- Offers some of the finest classics
- Create your wishlist of items
Cons:
- Don’t have as big a library as some of its noted rivals
Platform Availability: iOS, Android, and Web
Pricing: $12.99/month
Visit: Website
10. Libby
You might also like “Libby,” made by the same company if you love OverDrive. It has a huge array of ebooks and audiobooks, just like its brother or sister.
A legal library card will also give you access to a huge collection of books to read and listen to. The app (like its well-known cousin) lets you download all of your best audiobooks so that you never have to stop listening to them unexpectedly.
Regarding customization, Libby has enough cute options to beat Audible. There will be no disappointment if you always want a personalized experience. Everything is synced across all your devices, including your loans, notes, and reading places, so you can move from one to the other without taking a long break from listening to your audiobook.
You can also get the most out of it without spending much money, making it a better option for folks who find Audible expensive. The right way to view it is that Libby is a great free alternative to Audible.
Pros:
- Personalized experience
- Free to use
- Good user interface
- Waiting time for popular titles
Cons:
- Must need a valid library card
- The audiobook library is smaller
Platform Availability: iOS, Android, and Windows
Pricing: Free
Visit: Website
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a cheaper alternative to Audible?
Yes. You can get cheaper books from Scribd and Kobo Books instead of Audible.
Is Audible free with Prime 2023?
No. You can’t get Audible for free with Amazon Prime. Aside from the few audiobooks that are free for Prime members, users still need to sign up for Audible to access the whole library.
What can I use instead of Audible?
Instead of Audible, you can use several other audiobook apps, including Kobo Books, Audio Books Now, and Downpour.
Is there a competitor to Audible?
Yes. Apps like Kobo Books, OverDrive, and Scribd are better alternatives to Audible.
Pick Out the Best Audible Alternatives
We hope that your long search for an app like Audible has finally ended well. There are many great options, so picking the right one for a great audiobook listening experience should be easy. Let me know your pick and what you found adorable in it now that the deal is over.
